Evidence slows 12-year-old's murder trial

SAN ANDREAS - It will be at least another six weeks before a trial date can be set for a 12-year-old boy accused of fatally stabbing his 8-year-old sister at their home in Valley Springs.

Comment

By Dana M. Nichols

recordnet.com

By Dana M. Nichols

Posted Aug. 1, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Aug 1, 2013 at 9:44 AM

By Dana M. Nichols

Posted Aug. 1, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Aug 1, 2013 at 9:44 AM

» Social News

SAN ANDREAS - It will be at least another six weeks before a trial date can be set for a 12-year-old boy accused of fatally stabbing his 8-year-old sister at their home in Valley Springs.

Attorneys for the boy said they had hoped to set a trial date Wednesday, but that much of the evidence in the case has not yet been processed, much less provided to the defense team as is required before a trial can happen.

"Both sides are struggling with the amount of evidence," attorney Steven Plesser said during a very brief session in Calaveras Superior Court.

Leila Fowler, 8, was found April 27 at her home on Rippon Road in the sprawling Rancho Calaveras subdivision. The discovery initially set off a massive manhunt when her 12-year-old brother told investigators he'd seen a stranger fleeing the home.

But on May 11, Calaveras County Sheriff Gary Kuntz announced that Leila's brother had been arrested on charges of murdering her. The boy has pleaded not guilty to the charge.

He is being held in El Dorado County Juvenile Hall because Calaveras County lacks any lockup for children.

During Tuesday's hearing, Calaveras Superior Court Presiding Judge John E. Martin set Sept. 18 as the day for the boy to return to court in hopes of setting a trial date.

The boy spoke only once, saying "yeah" and nodding his head when Martin asked him if he would continue to waive his right to a prompt trial.

"Only a portion of the physical evidence in this case has even been submitted to a lab for testing," Plesser said.

He said he believes prosecutors are making a "good faith" effort to handle the matter promptly, but that it is a "big case in a small county."

In addition to Leila Fowler's killing, authorities in Calaveras County have also investigated several other homicides so far this year, including the murder-suicide of a father and two children discovered Feb. 2 at a home in the upscale Forest Meadows subdivision near Murphys.